


the unending cycle of despair

by klavicchi



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: "Big brother" Rantaro, Claustrophobia, F/F, F/M, Free Time Events (Dangan Ronpa), Gen, Guilt, Insecure Iruma Miu, Iruma Miu & Oma Kokichi Friendship, Kokichi is tired, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, Oma Kokichi-centric, Ouma not Oma, Panic Attacks, Parental Tojo Kirumi, Re-upload, Ryoma Hoshi gets the love he deserves, Spoilers, Supportive Akamatsu Kaede, Sweet Gokuhara Gonta, Time Loop, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, anime and video game references, no beta we die like men, tagging is hard, tags updated accordingly, v3 spoilers you've been warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29542029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klavicchi/pseuds/klavicchi
Summary: There were so many things that Kokichi regretted.And now, Kokichi Ouma, Ultimate Supreme Leader, has been given a second chance.It would have been simple, but of course, life hates Kokichi Ouma.  So, with every action he does differently, something else also ends up getting changed. For better or worse.If his actions and words can possibly change the outcome of everyone's lives, then that knowledge alone is enough for him to play a game against fate. One that Kokichi intends to win.In other words; Kokichi Ouma is willing to do whatever it takes to save everyone and expose this games mastermind, but this time, he isn't alone.
Relationships: Harukawa Maki & Saihara Shuichi, Iruma Miu & Shinguji Korekiyo, K1-B0 & Oma Kokichi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. (I) Prologue: Repeat

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Implied panic attack and minor mentions of claustrophobia. If this makes you uncomfortable, skip from "  
> This was beginning to feel so familiar, but what about it was?" to "Blinking, the leader pushes himself away from the robot, backing a few steps away from him and looking around the room. "

_"H...hey, Kaito..."  
_

_"There's... something.. I've been planning for a while now..a plan to expose the mastermind.."  
_

_"The key.. the only way it can work.. we need to make it impossible for the victim to be found out."  
_

_"At the time, It didn't matter who the victim was.. just as.. long as we can **fool** everyone. But now.. since time's running out.. it needs to be.."  
_

_"Anyway.. this is our last chance. You want to be a hero, right? You want to save **her** , don't you? Then this is the only way."  
_

_"As long as you **agree** to help me.. we can put an end to this sick game. And then, the one behind all of this.. we'll expose them too. We'll make them feel true **despair**. If we can do that, all of this will have been worth it.. we can end this game, and honor the lives of everyone who's died."  
_

_"The person who thought of this horrible game that's playing around with all of our lives.. the ones that put us through this.. and all the ones enjoying it.. all of them just piss me off! So that's why.. no matter what it takes.. I'll definitely put an end to this killing game."_

* * *

This was it.   
  
Kokichi's lilac eyes trailed over to Kaito's finger, which was hovering above the button that would indirectly cause the death of the one and only Kokichi Ouma. He had done his part, it was almost over. Kokichi bit his lip, trying to not think about how tight the space was. To be honest, for a change, the leader never expected that he'd die like _this_.   
  
That being said, it didn't mean that he wasn't prepared to end the killing game. 

Kokichi Ouma had planned _most_ of this out, of course. Long ago, he had realized that if Monokuma was unable to say who the victim was, and executed the wrong person, that would end everything. His plan was partly what kept him motivated. And in the end, his plan ended up being the one and only thing that kept him going. The others had Kaito. Kokichi, just as Shuichi had said, had no one. And it seems, that's going to stay true right to the end, just like he had said.   
  
If he closes his eyes, he can still the the detectives hauntingly beautiful eyes glaring at him with pure hatred. Kokichi had been used to that look from other, but never from _him_. The detective had never looked at him that way before. Not. Once.   
  
It caught him off-guard. 

And, that was a problem. His whole plan relied on him being three steps ahead of the true mastermind—their opponent—just like in a game of chess. Kokichi still wasn't sure if he was just a pawn to be sacrificed, or something greater than that, one of the players. Kokichi had sacrificed lives, for what seemed like was the greater good. Using Gonta to kill Miu wasn't _ever_ apart of the plan from the beginning. Yes, he knew that it was selfish. It was _incredibly_ selfish. He tried to convince himself that if Miu had killed him, no one would have been able to figure out how it happened. In a sick way, surviving was crucial.

If he died, then it would be game over for everyone.

Though, he couldn't help but wonder if he _had_ to have used Gonta for it. Maybe Kiibo would have been willing to listen to him.. maybe telling just one person about Miu's plans instead of sacrificing someone else's life would have been able to save everyone. Then again, he was well known as a liar. There was no way they'd take a liar's words. 

_It seems, Gonta's death hadn't really saved Kokichi's life at all. It had only bought him a little more time. In the end.. was it really all worth it...?_

.

.

.

Kokichi _hates_ the glance of pity Momota keeps shooting at him. _  
  
_"Hey, Kokichi," The other male's hoarse voice speaks up, "..are you ready?"

... What kind of **_idiotic_** question is that? Of course, there's no way he'd ever be _ready_ to die. Prepared for it? Maybe. But, not exactly _ready_ to. 

They had been almost the complete opposite of each other, Kaito was obsessed with being the hero and trusted people way too easily. He built up trust in the others. Meanwhile, Kokichi had been more cautious, keeping a guard up and becoming the villian when it was necessary. He destroyed the trust that was given to him. 

You know, he never quite understood the relationship Kaito had with Shuichi and Maki. The three were almost complete opposites of each other. He never understood how everyone could forgive Maki even though she was a murderer. 

The leaders hands weren't exactly clean anymore. Miu and Gonta were dead because of him, and now, it was his turn to die too. 

Kokichi's not sure how he's supposed to feel. 

There are so many ideas of a response to Kaito's question that come to mind. Kokichi could pretend to be excited, but that wouldn't do anyone any good. There was no reason to lie now. There was no use anymore. ' _What do you think, Kaito? I'm about to die. Of course, I'm not ready.'_ Another part of him wants to snap.

But.. it all hurts so bad.

Emotionally wise, he's unsure. Was he even feeling _anything_? 

"Kaito," Kokichi hears himself respond, "..don't ask stupid questions." He inhales sharply, feeling a sudden pain shoot up his spine. Seeing the look on Kaito's face is the one and _only_ thing that makes him tell a joke. "Hey, well.." The leader forces a small grin. "..at least I wasn't boring, right?" 

Instead, there's a chuckle, and the sound of something small dripping on the floor, "Yeah," Kaito mumbles, his voice wavering, "you were far from boring."

And, it's all over. Kokichi feels tears welling up in his eyes, quickly spilling over onto his cheeks. Were these tears just a lie that he made up? Was it the truth? He's not exactly sure whether or not he really means it. Kokichi has lied too much to himself for him to be certain. But he does know that _he doesn't want to die._ He's afraid. He's never been this close to death before. Part of him welcomes the idea, just wanting to be free from the pain, from all the loneliness. The other part of him is fearful of what's going to happen next. And the last part of him..regrets that he's going to die here. All alone. 

"Get on w-with it," Kokichi hiccups, his voice shaking, hot tears still running down his cheeks. He shakily wipes them away even though there's no need to. It won't matter in a moment anyway. "You want to save _her_ , right? If I d-die from the pois-"

"I know, I know," The astronaut interrupts, not letting him finish, eyebrows furrowing as he rubs the back of his head, "I know that, Kokichi." His anger isn't directed at the leader, but Kokichi can't help but feel like it is.

He knows that the anger is directed towards the killing game for putting them into this situation. He knows that even if Kaito was mad at him, he had a completely valid reason for that. He knows that he's going to die with everyone hating him. He knows all of this, and yet, he _hates_ it. He hates it so much. Kokichi hates the person he had become as a result of this, the people he had to sacrifice to survive. But now he finally can end it...with Kaito's help.

"Ju-just.." Kaito closes his eyes, swallowing. "Isn't there some other way?"  
  
"You and I both know the answer to that, Kaito," He responds softly, this is probably the quietest Kaito's heard Kokichi speak before. The leader gives a small nod, gesturing for him to press down the switch. "Finish this. _Please."_

The press slowly lowers down. 

Kokichi closes his eyes for the last time.

His surroundings fade away.

A vision of a tall green-haired calm male and an enthusiastic pianist enter his mind. The blonde-haired pianist is playing the piano for the other, the green-haired male quietly watches, a soft smile on his face. A short, easy to miss, but hard to ignore male stares into his reflection in a lake, a taller, polite, maid hums along to the tune that the pianist plays, the smallest hints of a smile on her lips. Next to them, a sunny artist is proudly showing off her work, the taller girl next to her with a familiar green bow slightly smiled, not noticing a taller, slim male, also admiring the artwork from afar, holding a small notebook in his bandaged hands. There's a gentle giant laying on the grass next to a brash, intelligent inventor, carefully holding a caterpillar, while the inventor watches with a hint of curiosity. 

It _aches._

He tries to imagine himself along with them, but he doesn't quite seem to fit in anywhere.   
  
And in the end, all the words that would be used to describe Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, would never be good.

Everything goes silent.

_It was all up to Kaito now._

  
~~_**System/Reboot.kokichi_v3  
** _ ~~ **  
**

* * *

  
_It's cold_.   
  
The next thing Kokichi knows, he's waking up in a small, cramped space.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting to happen next, but being stuffed in an oddly familiar place wasn't his ideal. The purple-haired male wonders if this is the afterlife, or is this purgatory? He definitely knows he's not in heaven. It's dark. Way too dark. His legs feel cramped, and so does his _whole body_ for that matter. He feels around the...what feels like a...square that he's trapped inside, and then a feeling of dread suddenly fills the bottom of his stomach. This was beginning to feel so familiar, but what about it was?   
  
It's too cramped.. he can't breathe. 

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" A familiar voice asks from outside the metal box Kokichi's trapped in.   
  
His breathing speeds up, and it seems like he can't catch his breath. This is awful.. he's not supposed to even be breathing right now, right? Isn't he supposed to be dead? The leader opens his mouth to say something, but his breath catches and he ends up choking. Coughs wrack his small frame, his lungs burning as he pitifully struggles to get a single breath in. It's so cold, so why is he sweating? 

"Hold on," The voice from before says, and he hears footsteps approaching him. And, sadly, that only manages to make him panic more. Is he even breathing..? 

Kokichi curves his fingers into a fist and starts pounding on it, the metal space around him. While Kokichi tries his best to keep his mind off of the fact that the locker is _really_ cramped. There's a sound of a click, and then his metal prison is open, causing the leader ungracefully falling to the floor like a rag doll, only to have something metal catch him before he could fall.   
  
"I've got you—"   
  
The robot holds onto Kokichi, looking down at the smaller male. His eyes widen, seeing the leader struggle to breathe. "Ah, um.. don't worry, everything's okay now. You're safe." He awkwardly pats him on the back and patiently waits for the leader to steady himself.  
  
After a moment, he glances down at Kokichi again, who now seemed to appear as though he could breathe regularly again. Blinking, the leader pushes himself away from the robot, backing a few steps away from him and looking around the room. The leader then remembers exactly what was so familiar about his surroundings. His lilac eyes brightened up in surprise, and he lazily put his hands behind his head, acting as if he had not been hyperventilating moments ago. 

It seems like neither of them are going to acknowledge what just had happened.

Wanting to strike up conversation since he honestly was curious, Kokichi tilted his head to the side, smiling a bit. "Hey, Kiibo. Fancy seeing you here again!" The leader clears his throat, wondering if he had passed out instead of..well.. died. "Did I, like, imagine all that or something? Don't tell me it was all just a dream."   
  
From the frown and the confused glance he's receiving, he's sure that something is wrong. An uncomfortable silence fills the room, before the robot finally speaks up again. "Um, excuse me, how do you know my name?" The robot looked uncomfortable, he slowly backed away from the leader.   
  
Kokichi raises an eyebrow, wondering how the robot had forgotten all that they had been through. Then again, he _was_ supposed to be dead right now. How he ended up back where he started was beyond him. "Come on, stop trying to joke around. It doesn't fit you." The leader straightens his clothes out. "I mean, how did I end up back in that locker? Did you guys stop the press before it crushed me somehow? The poison also should have killed me by now, unless you guys found some kind of antidote.." He trails off when he's met with a concerned, yet, confused look from Kiibo. "Why are you looking at me like that?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about, and I don't think we've ever met before," The robot responds carefully, "But, did you say you were poisoned? Do you need medical attention?"   
  
Kokichi's smile fades. "Are you serious?" The question leaves his lips before he has a chance to even process the facts on his mind.

Sure, there were a lot of strange things, like the whole fact that he was supposed to be dead right now. That idea keeps nagging him, and he wonders if it'll ever go away. Still, he had grown somewhat close to Kiibo, even if they weren't exactly friends, he had been one of the only ones that would tolerate his behavior. In the end, after Kokichi had announced that he was the mastermind, Kiibo had ended up being more sympathetic than anyone left.   
  
"I apologize, my memory is a bit fuzzy at the moment, I don't even remember how I arrived here," Kiibo attempted to explain, though the hesitance to trust Kokichi was still there. "Maybe if you would tell me what your name is, I'd have a better time recalling where I know you from." He suggests. "Also, you did say you were poisoned, correct?" The robot repeats, bringing up the fact again. "I think we should also focus on trying to get you some help."  
  
"Kokichi Ouma," Kokichi quickly says, and he feels like the anxious feeling in his chest nearly doubles when he's met with a blank stare once again. It feels like something in his chest is frozen, a sickening feeling in his stomach. Kiibo didn't remember. His mind flashes back to all the time they spent together, all the small conversations and moments that ended up meaning a lot to him. "I don't—don't understand," he says, feeling his hands tremble. This doesn't make sense. None of this makes any sense. What was the purpose of this!? "..you don't.." He shakes his head, biting back the urge to laugh, "Kiiboy, why don't you _remember!?"_

The robot takes a step forward, his expression morphing into back into concern, "I'm sorry. Is everything alright?" 

_'What a stupid question.'_ He thinks but decides to push the thought aside. Instead, Kokichi smiles so wide that it feels like his face might split, his voice shaking and the fake sincerity of the statement sounding quite fake to even him, "Of course! And I was just kidding about the poison and stuff, it must have just been a dream."  
  
Kiibo seems to pick up on that, deciding to carefully choose his words so that he didn't hurt the smaller male even more. "I'm not sure what kind of relationship we might have had before, but would it help if we were to reintroduce ourselves to each other? Get a chance to restart on the relationship we may have had?" Kiibo asks quietly, taking a step to put a hand on his shoulder. Kokichi knows that he's trying to help him out, and that's the only reason why he slowly nods his head. _Dang it, Kiibo. Why are you so selfless?_  
  
A small grin forms on the robots face as he takes his hand off of the boy's shoulder and places his hands on his hips. "As you may know already, my name is K1-B0, but please call me Kiibo." He pauses, glancing at the leader, " _not_ Kiiboy, Kiibo." At the leader's innocent expression, he continues, "I've been given the title of the Ultimate Robot."  
  
"I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader," he answered, the look of curiosity in the robot's eyes wasn't unexpected, actually, this had happened last time too. Well, it happened after he lied to him first about being the Ultimate Gambler. But, Kokichi wasn't in the mood to lie right now, he just wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible. Was Kiibo the only one here that didn't remember him, or was Kokichi the one that was supposed to have forgotten everything? Also.. was Kaito still here too? How much did he miss?

"Supreme Leader?" Kiibo repeated, and Kokichi wondered how a robot could make so many different facial expressions. Was this one new, or had he just not noticed? "That's a joke, right?"   
  
Okay, yeah, that was new. "I'm not—" The leader shook his head, glaring daggers into poor robot's face, clearly offended. "I know I shouldn't have expected a _robot_ to understand this, but most people wouldn't call someone else's talent a 'joke'. It's rude, Keeboy."

If the robot could have paled, he probably would have, "oh, I apologize, Ouma-Kun. I didn't mean any ill intent with that comment," Kiibo then pauses, eyes lighting up with newfound realization. "—wait, was that a robophobic remark?"  
  
He has to hold back a laugh, "Robophobic? Did you make that up?" Kokichi asks, just as he did last time. They're back on track to the conversation they had had when they met for the first time, only, Shuichi and Kaede had entered the room around this time. Maybe they were just as confused as he was. Maybe the problem was just with Kiibo. He was only a robot, afterall, something could have gone wrong with his settings, and he may have forgotten all of his memories by accident. The only problem with that logic is that there was no reason for him to end up back in a locker.   
  
"No, I did not!" Kiibo almost seems offended by the accusation, and he points an accusatory finger out at the leader, "it's actually something that many people seem to unknowingly do. Many people make robophobic remarks on accident, but yours seemed like it was on purpose!"   
  
Kokichi crossed his arms, it doesn't hide the smile on his face. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Kiiboy."   
  
"What a moving apology," Kiibo replies, voice full of sarcasm as he waves his hands in the air, "I was almost moved to tears. And what did I say about calling me Kiiboy? That's not my name."  
  
"Silly robot, don't you know that you can't really cry!" Kokichi chirps, putting his hands behind his head once again with a grin, ignoring the comment about his silly nickname for the robot. ' _That's what you get for forgetting everything, you stupid robot.'_ Kokichi glances over at the door, ignoring Kiibo's wounded expression from his words. He knew that Kiibo was sensitive about things like that, but honestly, he deserves this for forgetting him. "You're just a robot, after all!"  
  
He darts for the door before Kiibo can even finish shouting whatever it was he was trying to say to him, knowing that Kiibo was most likely going to follow him. The purple-haired teenager turns, and he's met with a huge robot—an exisal if he remembers correctly— he now knows what the robot was trying to say. It had been a warning that he probably should have taken the time to listen to. _There's no time to stop_ , Kokichi realizes as his shoes slide unhelpfully across the floor, the large exisal seeming to attempt to move back, though it's too late for that now. He hears a scream and a sharp feeling of pain blossoming on the side of his head, then his vision goes dark. 


	2. (II) Prologue: departure

He wakes up to the feeling of something cold on his forehead. Opening his eyes slowly, the leader sat up on his forearms, feeling an ache in his head as he looked around the classroom. The pack of ice that had been on his head slid down onto the desk, making it wet with the excess water that had formed on it. The huge exisal he had ran into had left, in its place were four small mechanical bears. If Kokichi had remembered correctly, they referred to themselves as the Monokubs. He had never really bothered to learn their names since he was worried about ending the killing game and couldn't bother himself with learning about which kub was which. He glances over to his right side, seeing Kiibo sitting in the desk next to him, while watching the kubs argue.  
  
"Oh," a soft voice to the left of his side says, "he's awake."  
  
Kokichi quickly turned, ignoring the ache in his head as he did so. He didn't expect there to be anyone else in the classroom yet. Especially not _him._

Shuichi stood next to the desk that the leader had been sitting on, his dark hat placed atop he head just like it had been before Kaede had left him, his grey eyes watching the scene in front of him, the same feminine eyelashes he had before. The detective seems to be a little tense at the sound of the Monokubs yelling at each other, but his tensing stopped when a familiar blonde-haired girl wrapped her arm around his shoulder.  
  
That's when Kokichi knew that he just _had_ to be dreaming.  
  
Pinching his wrist, Kokichi tries to assess if he's dreaming or not. Yeah, he felt the pain, just like he felt the pain of running into the exisal. Kaede had died, there was no way she should be here right now. Dead people normally don't come back to life. As if sensing that Kokichi had been confused about their sudden appearance, she whispered something into his ear, the two of them taking a step back from him. The liar still felt the detective's stare on him.   
  
"Ouma-kun," Kiibo said, putting his hand on Kokichi's and giving it a small squeeze, ignoring the scene behind them, "..are you doing okay?"  
  
The leader slowly nods, though he wonders if that answer was a lie or not, "Mhm! I'm doing fine." He slips his hand out from under Kiibo's and stands up despite the robot's attempts to get him to sit back down, looking between the silent students on his left and the arguing Monokubs on his right, trying decide which he should address first. There were still _way_ too many unanswered questions.   
  
"Hey," Kaede says, smiling softly at him, "Ouma, is it?" He nods again at that, wondering what she had to say. "My name is Kaede Akamatsu, I'm the Ultimate Pianist!" She nudged the detective on the shoulder, "This is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective." Shuichi opened his mouth to say something, but Kaede continued before he could get a single word out. "Shuichi and I are stuck here like you, we've been searching the school together, and we were wondering if you'd like to join us." She paused, "..that is, if you're feeling up for it."  
  
Once again, there was another thing that hadn't happened before.

Kokichi wasn't sure if Kaede was extending this offer to him because she felt bad for him or not. This might be the opportunity that he needed to keep their minds off of any kind of plans. Though, Kokichi was sure that Kaede had only made a plan _after_ the whole idea of a killing game had be introduced. Since the two were still seemingly calm, it was safe to assume that it hadn't been announced yet... right? Or, was this all just a joke? What was even happening anymore??  
  
Kokichi grinned, "of course I'm not feeling up for it, we've just met, and I have no idea what's going on!"  
  
Her smile seemed to fall, "Oh.."  
  
"Juuust kidding! I want to see what kinda secrets are being kept here in this creepy school," The leader lied, looking around the classroom, and trying to keep in mind that he was the one who knew the most here. From the real truth about the outside world, to the fact that he was 90% sure that the memories that were in the flashback lights were fake. "Don't tell me you two don't have memories of what happened before we got here, too."  
  
"You don't remember anything, either?" Kaede asks, tilting her head to the side. "That's so strange, it's been the same for me and Shuichi."   
  
Kiibo frowned, "I wasn't aware that you also were experiencing memory loss as well, Ouma-kun."  
  
Kokichi shrugged his shoulders, "Whoooops, I guess I just forgot to tell you!" the glance he received from the detective was unnerving. It was almost like Shuichi had known that he was lying about that.   
  
"Well, uhm," Shuichi mumbled, "..should we just go now, or should we do something about them?" he pointed over at the group of Monokubs who were still standing around. The group fell silent as they listened to them argue, Kokichi wondering what the point of there was to their dialogues. Was this supposed to be some kind of comedic relief? 

"—ruined everything! They weren't supposed to see the exisals until later!"  
  
"Guys, please stop arguing!"   
  
"We can just blame it on Monodam! This is all his fault, anyway!"  
  
"......."  
  
"We didn't kill him, did we? It's okay then, right?"  
  
The pianist snapped her fingers, "Oh, yeah, that's right. I almost forgot that they were here. They came in a few minutes after Shuichi and I came in and saw you unconscious," she explained.   
  
"So let's just ignore them and go!" The leader exclaims, already knowing that they were going to be seeing the Monokubs a lot more than they'd want to. They had a habit of doing that, showing up at the seemingly worst time for them to appear. "Aren't you interested in looking around the school?"  
  
"As much as I want to look around, I'd like to have them answer a few questions about what the huge machine was," Kiibo replied to the leader, "though, from their words, I'm sure we'll find out what it is sooner or later."  
  
The pink bear suddenly ran over to Kokichi, though she didn't get too close, "We're beary sorry about hurting you!"   
  
The one with the chest hair put it's claws to his face, "Yeah, it's all that Monodam's fault for not being able to pilot a exisal correctly!"  
  
The most robotic looking bear said nothing, "......"  
  
The one holding the abacus slapped the one who had previously spoke, "Monokid, why did you remind them about 'em?"  
  
"It's not like they have a three second memory like Monotaro!" The bear argued back, "Geez, Monosuke, ya didn't have to smack me! I oughta run Monodam over with an exisal!"   
  
The only girl in the group of Monokubs squealed, "Eww, gross!"  
  
"Relax, 'sis, it's not like he'd be like he'd end up as a pile of guts." Monokid responded, seeming to roll his eyes.  
  
"I think I'm going to throw up!"  
  
"Don't do it here, Monophanie!" The red one shouted, before suddenly disappearing along with her. The other bears soon following after them with a chorus of "so long, bear well."  
  
"Well, that was a complete waste of our time," Kokichi said, voicing everyone's thoughts. "What do you say we do what I was suggesting earlier and leave before something else stops us from getting out of here?"  
  
Kaede nods, "Mhm, it seems like there's a lot more to see to this school." She takes off her backpack, taking the Monopad she had in it out, while clicking on the map app, "See, I've had this tablet thing with me since I woke up, it shows all the places around the school."  
  
Kiibo leaned in, glancing at the screen, "This really is a large school."   
  
"Have you ever been to school before?" Shuichi asks the robot, "I know you mentioned earlier that you were the Ultimate Robot, and that you've been programmed to act like an average high school student.."  
  
"I don't _act_ like an average high school student," Kiibo replies, leaving Shuichi's question unanswered as he puts his hands on his hips, "I _am_ an average high school student. I know I may just look like a robot, but I assure you, I really am a normal student like the rest of you!"   
  
"Pfft—" Kokichi does a poor job to stifle his laugh, "Kiiboy, no one here is _normal._ "  
  
And then, with a smile, as if to prove his point, Kaede proceeds to destroy the classroom desks with her hands. "Don't mind me, guys!" She said innocently, throwing a desk across the room that ended up ramming into the LCD blackboard towards the back of the room. The three males glanced at each other, Shuichi simply sighing, already used to this despite just having met Kaede. 

"Don't worry," Shuichi assures, "this is normal. Actually, I'd be kind of concerned if she _didn't_ do this before we left."  
  
For the fun of it, Kokichi joined her. 

* * *

After picking up a bunch of coins and helping Kaede put them in her backpack for safe keeping, the group walked down the hallway together silently, staring at the strange decor. After a bit, Kaede glanced over at the leader, curiosity practically shining in her eyes. "Ouma-kun, I have a couple of questions about your talent." Huh, when had she learned what it was? "To be honest, I don't really understand it." The pianist admits, tilting her head slightly.  
  
Shuichi spoke up, "Do you lead over a certain thing?" he asked softly, "Maybe over some kind of group? If so, what's the name of your organization?"  
  
Shooting a glance over at Kiibo, the leader frowned, "..how do you know about my ultimate talent?" He asked, even though he already knew how, he just wanted to clarify it. ' _Stupid Kiibo,_ ' He thinks, crossing his arms, _'Now I don't have a chance to lie about that. I knew I should have lied to him before.'  
  
_ Realizing that he must have done something wrong, Kiibo glanced downwards, "Ouma-kun, I shared it with them earlier. I didn't know that you wanted to keep that fact to yourself."  
  
He sighed, there wasn't any reason to get mad at him about this, but he still could have a little bit of fun with this for a bit, couldn't he?

"I wanted to introduce myself!" Kokichi complained, "Now they know my name and my talent, there's nothing else I can say!"  
  
They walked past two doors, one pink, the other blue. Simple designs of a male and female on them. Kaede stopped walking, causing the group to do the same. She studied the doors, mumbling something to herself.  
  
"You could answer our questions, maybe.." The detective suggests, pulling his hat down when Kokichi made eye contact with him.  
  
"How about.. no!" The purple-haired male says, having a lot of fun teasing them, "you'll have to learn those things about yourself." Things were almost starting to feel just as they had before.. everything was starting to feel a little normal again. Whether that was a good thing or not was a very great question.   
  
"I'll be right back," Kaede says, walking towards the pink door, "I'm going to go see if there's anything interesting in here."  
  
"But it's just a bathroom..?" Shuichi responded, confused to the girls actions. Even though it was stranger that she destroyed everything when she left a room. Shuichi sure was a weird one.   
  
The pianist grinned, "Maybe it looks like that from the outside, but on the inside, there might be some kind of secret exit!"  
  
"In that case, would you like me to come check it out with you?" Shuichi asked, most likely not thinking his words through.  
  
"Nope, I've got it!" Kaede responded, not paying attention to the detective's words. She then turned around and quickly entered the girls bathroom.  
  
That left Kokichi, Kiibo, and Shuichi standing outside of the room. The detective had blushed slightly when he realized what he had said, looking away from Kiibo and Kokichi's stares, the leader already getting ready to make some kind of teasing comment before someone ended up approaching their little group.  
  
"There's more people stuck here like Gonta?" A tall male said, the familiar voice causing Kokichi's heart to stop. _Oh no, not him. Not him._

Without realizing it, Kokichi had moved closer to Kiibo, almost hiding behind him. He couldn't bring himself to look up at the entomologist, a feeling of guilt replacing his good mood. Gonta had done nothing wrong, it was all his fault for the gentle giants death. Sure, he had agreed to their plan, but Gonta had been manipulated by him. He didn't deserve—a memory of the gentle giant getting shot at by bugs flashed across his mind—he hadn't deserved to die.

To be completely honest, none of the people who had deserved what they had gone through. They were just kids. 

The trial begins playing out in his mind once again, the horrified look on Gonta's face once Kokichi brought up the whole 'Killing Game Busters' thing, the realization that Gonta had forgotten everything and that all of the time he had spent planning was for nothing, you couldn't make up for something as unpredictable as amnesia. But, seriously, who gets two wires mixed up? Why did he choose Gonta to use for that plan again? Oh, yeah, that's right, because there was no one else that he could have gone to about that. He's there again in that trial room, pure hatred coming from everyone's gazes, Gonta's tears enough to almost get Kokichi to crack, but no, he MUST stay strong. He has to. He has to. _He has—  
  
_ "Um, excuse me?"  
  
Apparently, he had tuned everything out, because Gonta and the other's had already introduced themselves and had been looking at Kokichi expectantly. The leader swallowed, looking slightly upwards to at least match the eye contact that Gonta had been giving him.

Kiibo had asked him something, or was it Gonta who had?   
  
"There's no need to be afraid of Gonta," The entomologist gently said, thinking that the reason Kokichi had been backing away from him was out of fear ( and honestly, it kind of was. ) . "Gonta may be big, but he's very gentle. Gonta won't hurt you, he's trying to become a gentleman."  
  
"My—" He has to ignore the way his voice wavers for now, just to focus on getting the words out so Gonta can stop looking at him. He feels so...ashamed. "My name is Kokichi Ouma, I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader." Kokichi puts on a smile, and he's grateful for the fact that neither Shuichi or Kiibo had questioned his sudden change in behavior.   
  
Gonta nodded, smiling back at Kokichi, "Gonta is happy that there are more people here for him to become friends with!" _How is he so nice??_ "Gonta's going to go try to see if there's more friends to find now. It was nice meeting you!"  
  
"See you later, Gokuhara-kun," Shuichi replies, waving to him as he left, Gonta waving back. His eyes trailed over to the liar, the smallest hints of a frown on his face.  
  
"..are you feeling alright?" A hand is suddenly on his sore forehead, the robot's cool hand on it, "You look rather pale."  
  
"When are you going to stop asking me that?" Kokichi shoots back, pulling away from Kiibo, "I'm not made out of glass, I'm fine."

Before Kiibo could say anything else, getting interrupted for what seemed like the thousandths time, the sound of things shattering was heard from inside the inside of the girls bathroom, Shuichi approaching the door with concern. "Akamatsu-chan, are you okay?" He asked, cupping his hands and raising his voice slightly to be heard through the door.  
  
The pianist exited bathroom, Shuichi narrowly escaping getting smacked by the swinging door as she opened it, she had been trying to zip up her backpack after putting coins inside it. "Hm, did you say something, Shuichi?"   
  
"Nevermind.." The detective said softly, just happy that she was alright. "..let's just go."  
  
Before the door closed, Kokichi glanced inside the bathroom, seeing that it was completely destroyed.  
  


* * *

  
They enter the library together, Kaede and Kokichi leading the group while Shuichi and Kiibo trailed slightly behind. The smell of dusty books hitting his senses as the leader walks inside, looking around, there were stacks of books everywhere, and no sense of organization. The detective seemed to note this, a frown appearing on his face as he glanced around. Kokichi also looked around, two familiar ponytails quickly catching his attention.   
  
' _Great,_ ' Kokichi thinks to himself, Kaede and Shuichi already exploring the library around them, ' _we get to deal with her already.'_ The leader and the assassin never had that much of a close relationship. Kokichi had provoked her a lot, exposed her secret, and picked on Kaito. In return, she had choked him several times, threatened to kill him, and in the end, basically ended up doing so.

So... yeah.

To say that Kokichi simply didn't like her would be an understatement.

Shuichi immediately walks over to the bookshelf, grabbing one of the books and glancing inside, the brim of his hat obscuring most of his face as he glanced down, flipping through the dusty pages. "Ah, none of these words look familiar. I wonder what language these were written in?"  
  
"No one cares, egghead," Kokichi comments, the detective looking at him with a pout. "More importantly, why are we here anyway? Library's are dusty and old and full of.." He pretends to shiver, "..books..ugh.." Actually, the liar didn't mind libraries, but the only thing on his mind at the moment was the fact that the _last_ time they were here, Kaede and Shuichi set up a trap to get the mastermind, but ended up killing Rantaro.

If he closed his eyes and concentrated enough, he could still see the outline of Rantaro's corpse laying there.   
  
"Books are good for you, Ouma-kun," Kiibo lectures, hands on his hips, "not only do they increase your knowledge, but they also help you develop some verbal abilities, increase your focus, and it improves your imagination!"  
  
Probably ignoring the whole conversation, Kaede shouts, "Look, another monitor!" she directs the group's attention to the screen. "There was one in the bathroom, and one in the classroom earlier. I wonder what they're for.." the pianist glances over at the spinning globe in the center of the room, losing her train of thought. "Wow, that globe is so pretty." she immediately went over to touch it.   
  
"Do you always touch things that don't belong to you?" The other inhabitant in the room spoke up, causing the group to look over at her. She sighed, glaring slightly, "I came in here because I didn't want to be around people, and a whole group of them just so happens to enter behind me. Did you follow me here?" She accuses quietly.   
  
"What, no!" Kaede quickly claims, "we're just exploring the school together!"  
  
Kiibo nodded, "If we happened to enter behind you, it was only a coincidence." The robot tried to ignore the strange glance he received from the brunette. "Ah, uh.." Growing uncomfortable from her strong glare, he decided to just introduce himself, "I'm K1-b0, but you can call me Kiibo. I'm the Ultimate Robot."  
  
Kaede smiled over at Kiibo, silently thanking him for the input, "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, and this is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective." She pointed over at the hat-wearing detective, who sighed, shielding his eyes with his hat.   
  
"Actually, I'm—" He cleared his throat, correcting himself quickly when he saw Kaede's glare. "Yes, she's right. I'm the Ultimate Detective."  
  
"Would you just so happen to be an ultimate too?" Kokichi asked, batting his eyelashes innocently, his voice sickeningly sweet.   
  
"..Maki Harukawa," the brunette said, her eyes seeming to stare into Kokichi's soul. "..ultimate child caregiver."  
  
Ignoring that, Kokichi snorted, but quickly covered his mouth. The sound of his muffled laughter still being heard. He couldn't believe it, was Maki really going to lie about this again? And now that he thinks about it, it was super obvious that she was lying. Why didn't the other's realize it without him pointing it out?   
  
"Come on, that's totally a lie," Kokichi said instead, shoving his hands in the pockets that he had no idea he had until now, "does she even look like she's a child caregiver?"   
  
Kiibo shook his head, "Now, Ouma-kun, don't you know that you the phrase that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover? The same thing goes for people." he lectured, Kokichi looking at him as if he was as interesting as watching paint dry. "Just like you shouldn't judge me based on my appearance. I look like a robot, but I'm just like the rest of you!"  
  
Kokichi shook his head, sighing, "Of _course_ you would turn this into a way to get us to stop seeing you as a scrap of metal."  
  
"Scrap metal!?" Kiibo repeated with a gasp, "Why, I have never been so insulted! I am not scrap metal!" 

"Have you seen anything around here?" Kaede asked, a hopeful look in her eyes, "any kind of exit or something that looks strange?" When Maki shook her head, the hopeful glint left, but she still had a small grin. "Then why don't you join us?" She offers, "We're looking around the school trying to find a way out."   
  
"You think you can get everyone to work together so easily?" Maki asks, crossing her arms and looking at the group with a frown that seemed like it was permanently stuck on her face. "We've only just met, we're only strangers." Yeah, Kokichi had the same sentiments last time. Her red eyes narrowed, "What makes you think you can get that to happen so easily?"   
  
"Because, we're all stuck here together, we're all in the same situation," Kaede answers, taking a step forward. The other males just looked to the pianist. "It would be pointless to suspect each other so soon when we know almost nothing about what's going on here. That's why we should work together to find a way out of here!" She beams, pumping her fist in the air. "We'll be able to find a way out much faster if we all do it as a team."  
  
Kaede's speech seems to do little on Maki's attitude towards this. The child caregiver rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Haven't you considered that maybe it's one of us that's behind this?" She sighs, quickly stepping around Kaede before she had a chance to say anything. Shuichi, Kokichi, and Kiibo watched helplessly as she quickly left the library, the doors slamming shut behind her.   
  
After a moment of silence, Kokichi spoke up, "Well, isn't she a bundle of sunshine and rainbows!" he exclaimed, grinning toothily with his hands lazily behind his head, "why, I feel like we're going to become the bests of friends!"  
  
"Maybe the four of us traveling together as a group isn't effective," Kiibo hesitantly suggested, "we should all probably split up so no one else feels swarmed."  
  
"Awww, Kiibo's just upset because he didn't get a chance to do his super cool introduction? How cute!" Kokichi cooed, before doing a complete 180, glaring at the robot, "Huh, doesn't that sound familiar? I think something like that happened to someone else I know."  
  
"No, that's—" The robot tried to refute the comment, but gave up when he realized it was pretty much pointless to lie. He pouted, turning away from the leader, the tiniest hints of a blush on his face. "...whatever."  
  
Watching the two silently, Shuichi finally contributed to the conversation, tugging on his hat. Kokichi hadn't realized that the detective used to be _that shy._ "If w-we're going to be splitting up, I can go with Akama—"  
  
"Ouma-Kun and I can go together!" Kaede said, accidentally interrupting Shuichi.   
  
Now that was yet another thing he hadn't expected to happen.

Kokichi had assumed that since last time before Kaede died, the two were seemingly attached at the hip, they'd stay that way once again. The fact that Kaede wanted to search with him was honestly weird. Last time, no one would have wanted to be around him. Is this really what the work of a few less lies and a changed catch phrase does? Or is Kaede just overly optimistic? Maybe it's because he's seen as more of a prankster than a liar, maybe people really _don't_ like knowing that their being lied to, even if it's as a joke. He's not the only one that seems surprised by Kaede's offer, Shuichi seems to be taken aback as well.

Actually, _and Kokichi can't help the smirk that comes on his face,_ Shuichi looks hilarious.   
  
"H-huh?" The detective blinks, staring at Kaede with his mouth slightly open. "B-but, I thought—"  
  
The blonde-haired girl just simply patted him on the head, Shuichi shutting up quickly, "Don't worry, Shuichi. We'll be back soon, but for now, you should get to know other people _without_ me!"  
  
The detective turned to Kokichi and Kiibo, looking at them with a silent plea for help. The liar just shrugged, still confused himself, but not wanting to admit that yet. Kiibo hummed, glancing over at Shuichi with a slight grin, "I admit, it will be different at first, but I'm sure that we'll get along nicely, Saihara-kun!"

Kokichi didn't ignore the way the robot's eyes glanced over at him.   
  
Shuichi hesitantly nods, "U-uh..yeah."  
  
Kaede and Kokichi leave Shuichi and Kiibo behind in the library.  
  
But, they destroy a couple stacks of books together before they leave.

* * *

Together, without Shuichi and Kiibo trailing behind them, Kaede and Kokichi make their way over to the game room. Opening the door, the pianist glances at the monitor in the left corner, giving a gentle warning to Kokichi about watching his step because of the roots in the corner of the room. The leader enters the room behind her, his eyes trailing over to the smaller male towards his right, the hat-wearing tennis played staring back at him in some kind of unspoken staring contest.   
  
Clearing his throat, and attempting to start a conversation, the shorter male spoke up, "This place sure is—"  
  
"WAH—!" Kaede shouted in surprise, jumping back while shielding her face with her arms in some kind of defensive position. After looking down at Ryoma, she calmed down, putting a hand on her chest. "I'm sorry about that, you just scared me! I didn't see you there."  
  
"....." he silently looked away, shielding his face with his hat, causing an intimidating shadow to appear on his face.  
  
"Nishihi~" Kokichi giggles, though he understood why Ryoma was offended. Height was a sore subject, _geez_. "Don't mind her, she doesn't think before she speaks sometimes!" The leader debates how he should go about this. He _could_ make another crack on the tennis player's height, or he could try to amend the pianists mistake. _Why not both?_ "She didn't mean to hurt your feelings by reminding you that you're super short, really!"  
  
"Ouma-kun!" Kaede hisses, seeing how the shortest one in the room's expression somehow darkened even more, "you're not helping!"  
  
After a sigh, he shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. I'm not bothered by it." That clearly was a lie. "I should just introduce myself so you don't have to hang around someone like me." Kokichi watched as Kaede's eyebrows scrunched in thought. Yup, that's right, this version of Kaede didn't know about his history yet. "My name's Ryoma Hoshi, or at least, I'm the shell of what's left of him." Ryoma put his hands in his pockets, looking away, "..the ultimate tennis pro."  
  
"I'm Kaede Akamatsu," The pianist says, a warm smile on her face despite Ryoma's words, "the Ultimate Pianist." she gestures to Kokichi like some kind of proud mother showing off their child, "this is Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!"  
  
"Akamatsu-chan!" Kokichi shouts, pouting childishly while stomping his foot on the floor, "I wanted to introduce myself!" the leader crossed his arms, "you're so mean, you totally knew that I wanted to!"  
  
Still smiling warmly, the pianist just laughed, not denying or confirming Kokichi's claims. Ryoma just watched as Kokichi whined, "It's not funny, stop laughing at me!" despite his words, Kaede only seemed to laugh more, the sliver of a smile coming on the tennis pro's face.   
  
"Geez," A new voice added, the person coming out of nowhere as they entered the room, rubbing the back of their head. "What's with all the whining?" He asked, and Kokichi glanced up and over at the male, instantly recognizing that stupid patch of goatee. Pushing his fists together, he looked down at Kokichi, "you shouldn't complain so much or it'll turn into a habit."  
  
"Who told you that, your _grandparents_?" The words leave Kokichi's mouth before he had a chance to even think about them.   
  
"..and with that, I'm leaving." Ryoma muttered lowly, walking out of the game room, "too many people here for me to deal with."  
  
It's silent until the door shuts, the other purple-haired male looking down at the leader with a raised eyebrow. "..actually, yeah." he sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head again. "Heh, why are you all looking so serious?" He asked, looking at Kaede and Kokichi who were silent, the latter expecting more of a reaction than that. Or, maybe the pianist was silent because she was busy looking around the room. "I should probably introduce myself to lighten the mood a bit, y'know? I'm Kaito Momota, the luminary of the stars!"  
  
That seemed to get Kaede's attention, "Luminary of the stars?"  
  
Kaito's eyes seemed to brighten up, "Yup, even crying children adore the ultimate astronaut!" he grinned, pointing at himself, "it's my job to—"  
  
Kokichi rolled his eyes, had already prepared for Kaito's long monologue about space and the vastness of the world or universe or whatever. Yada, yada, yada. The leader wasn't sure when he had tuned him out, but he ended up doing that, kicking around the roots on the floor with his foot, while Kaede seemed to be listening to Kaito's words.  
  
"—isn't that cool? The fact that I'm an astronaut?"   
  
The blonde-haired girl nodded, "I've never been to space, but you seem to know a lot about it." she smiled slightly, "maybe you can tell me more about it later?" She glanced over at Kokichi who seemed to be ignoring everything the astronaut had said. "...after we introduce ourselves too?"   
  
Kaito nodded his head, but still seemed to be hyped up to tell them about space, not even noticing that Kokichi had been ignoring him the whole time. "Yeah, that sounds good!" he grinned brighter, "but wait, let me guess first. You're some kind of musician, and he's some kind of clown or something?"  
  
Kokichi, who had now been listening, decided to put on one of his scariest face expressions, "Do I really look like a clown?" When the astronaut stepped back in fear, the leader stopped making the expression, deciding to look at his hand instead as if it were more interesting than the other male was.   
  
Kaede frowned, "hey, what's wrong?" she asked, having the privilege of not seeing one of Kokichi's creepy expressions. "What happened?"  
  
The astronaut pointed a shaky finger out at Kokichi, "His f-face! You should have seen it, it's like he was possessed by something!" The way he was looking right now almost made it look like he was the one possessed by something.   
  
She looked at his face, and the liar simply shrugged, putting an innocent expression on, "..wow, Momota-chan is so rude. First he calls me a clown, then he says that I look like I'm possessed by something!" Kokichi shakes his head, mentally enjoying every second of this, _even though it's dawned on him that everyone in this room had died before. He shouldn't even be able to talk to them right now. They were supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be dead._ _This really shouldn't be possible._ Swallowing, and trying to ignore the morbid thoughts that suddenly came to him, he bit his lip, "Makes me almost not want to introduce myself to you."  
  
"Don't play innocent!" Kaito shouted, crossing his arms, "I saw what you did!"  
  
"That really was rude!" Kaede scolded, glaring slightly at the astronaut, "you really should apologize to him. Ouma-kun's not even capable of making any kind of creepy expression." She suddenly grabbed the leader, poking Kokichi's cheek with the tip of her finger while Kokichi tried to understand what was even happening. "I mean, do you see this face? Do you really think it's able to do something creepy?"  
  
He huffs, dodging the question, "I know what I saw," Kaito mumbled, "but sorry, man. Didn't mean to make you upset."  
  
The pianist smiled, patting Kokichi's head, before standing on the tip's of her toes and patting the astronaut on the head. "Good. And yeah, you were right. I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist."  
  
"I don't accept your apology." When Kokichi's words were met with a glare from Kaede, he quickly added, "but that's a _joke_." Something in him reminded him that he should change his slogan. "Stupid Momo-chan thinks that he can upset me, Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader _that easily?"_ The shorter purple-haired thought for a second, thinking about how Shuichi's words had hurt him before, and some of the things Kaito had said before had really struck close to home. "I'm impossible to upset. Don't you know, Supreme Leaders don't have emotions, after all!"  
  
The astronaut looked at him strangely, "Whatever you say." He then turned, walking towards the exit. It was possible that Kaito hadn't believed him, but Kokichi wanted to convince himself that Kaito was still the same old idiot he was last time. Even though, Kaito had proven that this fact wasn't true. He wasn't an idiot, he just lacked common sense, he had claimed. Though, Kokichi wasn't sure what was worse.   
  
Kaito and Kokichi were complete opposites. Kokichi had become the villain, Kaito had become the hero. Those were the facts.

The astronaut was more likely to rush into something without thinking, and the leader was more likely to come up with multiple plans and back up plans, thinking of everything that could go wrong and finding a way around it before he would ever think of executing it. The leader liked to be in charge, he hated being controlled or not knowing what was going to happen next. Maybe that's why Kokichi hadn't trusted Kaito until the end. The astronaut was predictable with his actions, but unpredictable with his words.

Kokichi wondered what would happen if, maybe, just maybe, he tried trust him sooner.

"Ah, wait. Momota-chan!" Kokichi called, looking up at the other, causing Kaito to stop walking. _It wouldn't hurt to try.._ "Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about." He glances at Kaede. "Alone," he continues. "You see, I have a few questions.." 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is heavily inspired by The Intertwined Arts of Leadership and Deception by lavendrlies, i won't let you by chivalrousamour, and New Dangan Ronpa V3BOOT: Killing Harmony Redux by EternalSailorNeptune_53 .
> 
> Originally, this was published on: 2020-08-19 , but, since I took it down ( and deleted my old account ) the new submission date of this story has changed.


End file.
